


Escape from Diamond City

by MidnightEpiphany



Category: One Piece
Genre: Adventure, Eventual Romance, F/M, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-28
Updated: 2017-07-19
Packaged: 2018-11-05 19:35:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 19,602
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11020122
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MidnightEpiphany/pseuds/MidnightEpiphany
Summary: ((NO LONGER UPDATING ON AO3!! due to the site's decision to allow literal child pornography and rape/"noncon" depictions, i'm boycotting the site. find the updates on fanfiction.net))"He kept walking for a good hour, subconsciously noting every difference between this forest and the mangrove of the Saobody Archipelago. This one was bluer, thinner, and had less of a presence, but it was just as welcoming.That is, until he was attacked by a wild dog."Small town farmgirl Deirdre Doran has found herself in deep trouble--her boss is actually a slave trading drug lord, and he's found out she's been breaking the rules. Now she must race to find and protect her family before all of them are dead...or worse.





	1. Prologue (Homesick Too Long)

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this as a really self-indulgent prologue to a fic I've wanted to write for several months now. If you guys are interested then I'll probably continue it?? Tbh I started it 100% for myself to nail down this OC's story but if you like it please let me know so it'll motivate me to continue, lmao
> 
> I have 2 suan.fm playlists for this story, one for Deirdre and one for the story itself: 
> 
> Ain't No Diamonds Here (mostly instrumental story soundtrack, what I listen to while I write this): http://suan.fm/mix/zJyYCTm
> 
> The Werewolf of Diamond City (Deirdre's character playlist, mostly lyrical songs): http://suan.fm/mix/MNM8fzw

Zoro was not having a good day. You'd think that finally heading back to Saobody Park after two long years to be reunited with his captain and crew would be enough to lift his spirits—but the trip back was making him more than impatient.

Perona especially. It was kind of her to escort him there, he supposed grudgingly, but it didn't mean he had to like it. He'd already spent nearly two years in the same castle with her—he didn't really want to spend any more. A fledgling respect had grown between them while they lived in Mihawk's castle, sure, but not much more than that. And as the time to return home approached, his tension grew ever higher.

The past few months had been the worst. The deadline Luffy had given was slower than dirt in getting here, and now there was ( _finally_ ) only two months left. He'd just barely finished his training under Mihawk three days ago, and he was getting antsy. According to the map and Perona, it would take almost the entire two months to get back to Saobody. (It would have taken less if they both didn't have to avoid Marine bases and ships—but he had a feeling it was best to stay low for now—but it was still _beyond_ irritating to have Perona constantly reminding him of it.)

Today was just another in a long line of irritations. They'd missed their boat (thanks to the hurricane that almost sunk their previous one), so they were stuck on this miserable island until the next one came tomorrow morning.

Normally, Zoro would have been all for a day of rest—but the thought of seeing his crewmates again was a powerful one, and made him eager to keep moving.

Perona had found a hotel for them, one that didn't ask too many questions but didn't stink to high heaven (a hard combination to find). After reassuring her that he could get directions back if needed, Zoro had let his himself wander out of the little port town. Maybe it was the fact he was going to be stuck here far longer than intended, but he found the town disproportionately stifling.

The surrounding woods were tall and thin, more pipe cleaners than trees, but crowded together like gossiping housewives. It had just rained, leaving deep puddles and streaming rivulets in the uneven road—now more mud than dirt. The afternoon sun was hidden by the still-present (but much thinner) rainclouds, sending out the occasional stray beam of sunlight. Even to his one good eye, everything looked sharp and clear, like a photograph from a high-end den-den mushi.

He kept walking for a good hour, subconsciously noting every difference between this forest and the mangrove of the Saobody Archipelago. This one was bluer, thinner, and had less of a presence, but it was just as welcoming.

That is, until he was attacked by a wild dog.

Zoro had seen the beast approaching up the path for a few minutes now—it and the small group of skuzzy-looking men accompanying it. He hadn't considered it to be a particularly wild dog at first, either—for one thing, it was pulling a cart piled high with large boxes (and a few of the men). It was _huge_ , though, nearly four feet tall at the shoulder—all red-and-white fur and dark eyes.

He hadn't really paid attention to it—just kept his hand idly on the hilt of his sword as they approached. If he had looked a little closer, he would have noticed the odd glint in the dog's eyes as it looked him up and down; the way its ears swiveled in his direction; the way it held still for just a moment, as if thinking.

And then it pounced, growling—taking the sled with it. Boxes and men went flying, landing with a splat into the mud.

Now _that_ , he saw. In an instant Wado Ichimonji was in his hand, blocking the dog's claws just before they slashed at his chest. He parried, but the dog moved incredibly fast for something its size. It dodged another blow, the ropes attaching it to the sled falling slack.

Great, he'd cut it loose.

The men shouted, scrambling out of the mud. One or two of them tried to get between Zoro and the dog, while the rest were preoccupied with the fallen boxes and toppled sled.

"Doran, the hell d'you think you're doing?" One man bellowed, trying in vain to grab the dog's tail.

Doran dodged him easily, bolting back to attack Zoro again—this time its fangs missed his head by a fraction of an inch.

"Play along," it hissed in his ear as it passed, and his eye widened in shock. A zoan user?

"He threatened me," the dog barked, giving Zoro an almost imperceptible wink. "I need to take him down a few pegs." Doran spoke clearly now, and he could tell it was a girl's voice. What was her plan?

"Doran, Zima'll have your hide if you make us late to the deal—" the man replied, but was cut off as Zoro leapt back towards her, two swords out now. He wasn't sure what exactly was going on, but if this dog-girl wanted a fight, she'd get one.

They sparred for a minute, Zoro watching suspiciously as Doran held back imperceptibly. A misplaced paw here, a snap of the jaws a millisecond too slow there—just enough so that if it did land, it wouldn't do much damage. A few of the men pulled their guns and tried to help, but ended up getting slashed for their trouble.

He grunted in irritation. Just how weak did these people think he was?

"Don't waste my time," he growled, and landed a harsh blow across her side, knocking her back into the (newly restacked) boxes with such force that they splintered open. Their contents spilled out into the mud—a suspicious amount of pills for boxes labeled 'canned fruit.'

The men cursed, scrabbling to scoop them up.

"Doran! Kill that bastard!" The man from before yelled. "He just ruined half our shipment!"

She rose slowly from the splintered wood, panting. "Told you he was bad news. Don't worry, though, I got this."

"You better," he griped, putting his unexpectedly useless pistol away. "Just show up for the deal on time."

"Yeah, whatever."

Zoro looked at her doubtfully as the men gathered what pills they could and ran off. She looked over her shoulder, turning back once the coast was clear and wagging her tail.

"You fight pretty well, stranger."

He sheathed his swords, no longer unnerved by a human voice coming from a dog's body.

"Wait—you don't wanna keep going?" she asked, tilting her head. "It was just getting fun."

Zoro repressed a sigh.

* * *

After the swordsman stalked off, Deirdre made her way to the meeting point—an abandoned house in the middle of the woods. Even if she hadn't memorized the map, it would have been easy enough to follow Krupin's scent trail. She stayed in her dog form, since it was faster, only stopping to shift back (and change into her clothes) once she was within two hundred feet of her destination. She dragged her hair into a hasty ponytail as the house came into view.

It was more of a shack than a house, and obviously hadn't been lived in for more than a decade. Krupin and the rest of her unofficial wardens were waiting by the door, holding what was left of the shipment in their shirts. A surge of pride and contempt rose in her chest as she took in the effects of her handiwork.

"'Sup, guys?" she called, stretching as she got within range of them.

Her mother's advice rose to her mind once again: _When dealing with enemies, don't show weakness. Make them think you're completely at ease. Every once in a while, remind them why they shouldn't mess with you._

She'd done pretty well at it so far, she thought. Even without a real plan, too. She just needed an opening, something that slimeball Popov wouldn't see coming…

A few of her wardens grumbled, busy counting what was left of their stock. Krupin stood from his perch on a stone as she approached, his arms folded.

"Did you take care of that swordsman?" he asked expectantly. Deirdre rolled her eyes.

"'Course I did. Don't you trust me, Krupin?"

He frowned. "No, frankly, I don't."

She shrugged. "Well, doesn't matter. Popov's the one that calls the shots. 'S long as I keep him happy, you're stuck with me."

Deirdre couldn't help but smirk, thinking of the shattered boxes and bruised bodies she'd caused not an hour ago. Luckily for her, the smugness translated well for her façade.

"Don't remind me," he muttered.

With Krupin's mood effectively soured, the six of them opened the door and walked in. Deirdre discreetly grabbed the first aid kit from the shortest man, giving him a glare. The cut on her cheek was beginning to sting.

It took a moment for Deirdre to recall who they were meeting with. Kerrim? Curtis? Crow? No, that wasn't it…

"You're late," a voice said from a dark corner of the room, making the hair on her arms stand on end. Her eyes darted to the spot, dragged by the pull of this stranger's sheer power. It wasn't quite as strong as the swordsman's, but still _far_ out of Krupin and the boys' league.

Carrow, she remembered suddenly. That was his name. If this Carrow guy got aggressive, it was likely to end in blood. Lots of blood. Possibly hers. As entertaining as it would be to see Krupin get the daylights beat out of him, she didn't think she wanted to risk her own skin to witness it.

So she sat on a windowsill (the glass long since gone) and opened the first aid kit idly, keeping one eye on the three people in the back of the room.

Two men, one woman-and all three of them were stronger than her companions (she grimaced at the word "companions"; they were the least friendly people she could ever hope to work with). And they could probably take her out too, especially if they worked as a team.

They were all surprisingly short (as were most of the other people on this island), maybe four feet tall and burly, with some mean-looking guns held loosely at their sides. The guns she could likely avoid. Probably.

"Sorry about that, Carrow," Krupin began. "We got held up a bit on the way here."

"Not our problem," the man in the middle said. Deirdre assumed this was Carrow—he was dressed slightly better than his two companions, and had a bigger gun. There was a duffel bag on the floor beside him, probably filled with cash for the deal.

"No, of course not," Krupin backtracked. Deirdre could see him trying to figure out how to break the bad news about the pills.

"But, uh, we might have a different problem," he said. "During that holdup, uh…well, see for yourself." He gestured to the other five men, who were still carrying the pills in their shirts.

Carrow stalked over to the group, eyes narrowed as he took it all in.

"You mean to tell me," he started slowly, voice low and dangerous. "That you were not only late to our deal, but you only brought _less than_ _half the shipment_?"

"I-it was this swordsman's fault," Krupin stammered. "He attacked us on our way here, even almost killed Doran here." he gestured to Deirdre, who was busy applying bandages to her wounds.

She rolled her eyes, but kept quiet. Better not risk saying something stupid.

"How unfortunate," Carrow said dryly. "I kept my part of the deal"—he motioned to the duffel bag—"and you've completely wasted my time. This won't be good for your reputation, I can tell you that."

Deirdre almost chuckled. What a day.

Krupin's attempts at explaining further were silenced by another sharp look from Carrow. Deirdre was impressed he seemed to recognize how dangerous this man was. Or maybe he just knew how much trouble he was going to be in if this deal went south.

"Here's what we're going to do," Carrow said. "You idiots are going to hand over your shipment like we agreed. In return, we'll let you walk away with your lives."

"If we go back without the money we're good as dead," Krupin argued, and Deirdre could see him preparing to attack.

Oh, this was gonna _suck_.

Still, a fight was a fight-she couldn't help but get a little excited, even as the bullets started flying.

* * *

It took Zoro much longer to find his way back to town—the fight must've disoriented him more than his usual lack of direction. Perona gave him an earful when he finally got back to the hotel ("Why are you covered in mud? Is that a rip in your clothes? Mihawk gave you that shirt, what would he think if he saw that? I swear, you're such a _handful_ "), and he spent as little time as he had to inside. A quick shower and he was back to wandering the town—this time to find a nice sunny spot to nap in, or maybe a bar.

The sunny spot came into view first—a bench in the middle of a tiny park, with just the perfect amount of light. It called to him, and he answered, settling in with a contented sigh. Nothing like a nap in the middle of the day.

Unfortunately, the nap lasted all of a few minutes before he was disturbed.

"Hey, you!" a familiar voice cried close to his face, waking Zoro with a start. He opened his eye to see a girl about his age, plum-colored hair pulled into a high ponytail. She was bent over him genially, hands in the pockets of her cutoff overalls. There were a few bandages on her arms and legs, and one on her face, but it didn't seem to affect her. He stared blankly for a moment, not sure if he should recognize her or not.

She straightened, waving her hand in a placating gesture. "Sorry to wake you, but I just wanted to say thanks before I left. You really helped me out back there."

It clicked. "You're that dog, right?" Made sense. She was at least two feet taller than this island's strangely short native people, and the placement of the bandages seemed to match with the blows he'd landed during their 'fight.' Actually, there seemed to be more. Had she been in another fight since then?

"Well, yeah," she said, and glanced around at the empty street. "Though I prefer to keep it secret."

She stuck out her hand. "I'm Deirdre Doran."

Zoro shook it briefly, noticing the wide cloth wristband on her left arm. "Roronoa Zoro," he said slowly, watching for her reaction.

She looked at him blankly. "Huh. That name seems oddly familiar. Haven't met you anywhere before, have I?"

Zoro was speechless. He'd been certain she'd stiffen in shock, or beg forgiveness for daring to attack the Pirate Hunter, or _something_. Just what kind of backwater town did this girl come from?

"Well, I'm glad I met you again today. Is there anything I can do to pay you back?"

A refusal formed on his tongue, but she was still talking.

"—Maybe I could buy you a drink or something?"

" _Yes_ ," he said emphatically, and stood.

* * *

The pub was dim and musty, all dark wood and loud drunks. Deirdre and Zoro made their way easily to the bar, settling on a pair of stools by the wall. She took care to sit on his right side, in his line of vision. Her consideration both amused and annoyed him, but he could put up with it for now. After all, she was paying.

"Whiskey," he said to the bartender, a fat middle-aged man with a bored look on his face.

"Apple juice, please," Deirdre said, laying a few coins on the counter.

Zoro raised an eyebrow, and she shrugged. "Beer tastes funny," she said simply.

The bartender set their glasses before them absentmindedly, and Deirdre frowned—both the flagons looked the same, contents and all.

"Whatever," she muttered, picking one and taking a sip. She made a face and pushed the flagon to Zoro. "Yours. Yuck."

He smirked and took it. She sucked down some of her juice, trying to get the taste of whiskey out of her mouth.

"So," he said after a moment, finally letting his curiosity get the best of him. "You going to tell me why you just attacked me earlier?"

She sighed. "Yeah, I suppose I should. I owe you a lot for earlier." She leaned her head back and chugged her juice, setting the cup down with a contented sigh.

That contentment quickly left her, though, and there was an odd look in her eyes. "I'm from an island a long way from here, in the New World. It's pretty isolated, but it used to be a fairly big mining industry there back before I was born. About five years ago a man named Popov came to our island." Her voice hardened, and she gripped her cup.

"He bought a lot of land, and revitalized the mine. Before long he was the richest man on the island, and half the people there are his employees, including me for the last three years.

"He hired me to cart stuff around and accompany shipments, because of my, uh-you know. Strengths. And it was all going great, until—" she furrowed her brow. "Until I realized just what I was transporting."

He waited, taking a slow sip.

"One day, about two years ago, while I was carting a fairly small shipment by myself, I—I heard crying. From inside the box."

She looked at him, torn. "He had me moving slaves. _Slaves_ ," she said quietly. "That's when it all hit me, you know. What was going on.

"I went to confront him—tried to quit, tried to call the Marines on him. But that bastard threatened to kill my little sisters if I didn't keep working for him."

Tension rolled off her in waves as she continued.

"So I kept going, but I've been trying to sabotage him as much as possible. I've smuggled some people into a bunker my dad built decades ago, and I've found a few ways to destroy the drugs without putting suspicion on myself. I wish I was strong enough to just kill him myself, head on. But Popov's a coward and a murderer, and if he even _thinks_ I'm disobeying him, he'll kill my family.

"They're just kids. They're too young to die," she whispered, staring hard into her empty flagon.

Zoro finished his drink in silence, studying her face. Her thick brows were still knit together; dark eyes shining with unshed tears. Oh, no. She better not start crying. He never knew how to handle crying.

Much to his relief, she didn't—merely rubbed her eye with the heel of her palm and sat up straight again.

"So when I saw you in the woods, I just… I could _feel_ how strong you were, and so I took a chance that if I fought you…"

"That I'd destroy the drugs for you," he finished. "Clever." She must have some kind of observation haki. It wasn't too long ago he'd developed his own talent at armament haki—Mihawk had tried to drill observation haki into him as well, but gave up after a while (saying, "I should have known you'd be unable to _listen_ "). Well, Mihawk could go suck it. Here he was right now, listening to the problems of some stranger. A stranger who had bought him drinks, yes, but a stranger nonetheless.

"Heh. Thanks," she said, half smiling. "This is actually the third time I used that trick. Dunno how much more I can do it without someone catching on. Or dying."

She motioned at the bartender for a refill. "So thanks for playing along."

"Tch," he scoffed. "Yeah, _playing_."

She glanced at him. "What, so you weren't holding back? I coulda sworn you'd be stronger than that…" she mused.

A fight broke out behind them, but neither of them flinched. Deirdre looked over briefly, but turned back to him.

" _Yes_ , I was holding back," Zoro replied, irritated both that she'd doubted his strength and that she'd looked away. "I could've killed you in an instant if I wanted to." Probably even less, if he'd been paying more attention.

"Okay, okay, I believe you." She held up her hands in a placating gesture. "So… why didn't you?"

He blinked, then stared into his cup for a moment. Why hadn't he?

"Curiosity, I guess." He downed the rest of his drink.

"Hm," she said absently, and gave no protest when Zoro motioned for a refill from the bartender.

He was halfway through finishing his second when Deirdre finally spoke again.

"So what about you, Zoro-kun?"

Her use of honorifics surprised him—her tomboyish appearance (or anything she'd done previously, really) hadn't given the impression that she cared about being polite.

"What about me?"

"Well, where do you come from? Why are you in the Grand Line?" Her previous anxious mood was gone, replaced with curiosity and questions. "What's your family like?"

That last question hit him harder than he expected as images of his crewmates flashed in his mind. Two years' worth of repressed homesickness suddenly washed over him, and he wished silently that they were back on the Sunny, so he could just turn and point to his crewmates and let Deirdre find out for herself. He didn't trust himself to speak for a minute, let alone find the words to describe them.

"I'm making my way back to my crew," he said slowly, after a long moment. "We were separated a couple years ago, but my captain told us to get back to our meeting place soon."

"Crew? D'you work on a ship?"

He smirked. "You could say that."

Deirdre leaned in conspiratorially. "Are you a pirate?"

She took his silent grin as a yes. Suddenly she grew excited, leaning even closer, an eager look on her face. "Which crew? Do you know the Nightcap Pirates?"

He blinked in surprise. Most people didn't react so happily to pirates.

"Uh, no," he said. "Should I?"

Deirdre frowned in disappointment and sat back again. "Probably not. They're not in the big leagues anymore. Used to be, though. Back about… let's see… twenty-five years ago?"

"When Roger was still around, right?"

"Yeah. My mom was the first mate, but she gave it up and eloped with my old man. She used to tell me stories about her pirate days." A softer, almost dreamy look entered her eyes, and Zoro could see that she was remembering kinder times. She smiled softly, and then shook her head as if to dispel the mood.

"So," she said briskly. "You never said which crew you're on."

"Probably isn't wise," he replied.

She frowned. "Probably not. Still wanna know, though."

He glanced sidelong at her, finishing his drink once again.

"Just pay attention to the news. You'll see me soon enough."

Deirdre gave him a searching, dissatisfied look, but seemed to accept his words. "Well, if your crew ever comes to my island, you'll be welcome at my house."

"I'll make sure to tell my captain that."

* * *

Their boat arrived early the next morning, just before sunrise. Perona crossed the gangplank first, walking sleepily with her pack slung over one shoulder. Zoro followed, gaze set on the horizon.

He would be home soon.


	2. Reunions Shouldn't Have This Much Blood

“Ugh, that storm was awful,” Usopp groaned, leaning on his mop.

It had, like all storms in the New World, swept in suddenly and horrifyingly strong, threatening to overturn the Sunny more than once. Nami had barely had time to warn everyone about it before the first hundred-foot wave lifted them high and dropped them hard. Everything that wasn’t bolted to the floor had flown around, and quite a few things had broken or scattered.

“We’re lucky it didn’t shove us even farther off course,” Nami muttered, carefully examining her log pose. It would take a few more days to get to their next destination, and they needed to stop for food again soon. The pantry was getting painfully empty.

“How long did that last? It felt like days.” Usopp took to swabbing the deck once again. After Chopper had slipped on the wet deck a few years ago, Robin had rather forcefully suggested they take turns drying it after storms. It was Usopp’s turn this time, and everyone else was busy picking up the ship’s various rooms (even Luffy, much to everyone’s surprise).

“Only about six hours, give or take,” Robin said, lending a few hands on deck and picking up a second mop. Her power was more than helpful when it came to cleaning, and she’d finished tidying her assigned room well before anyone else.

“Our room is back to normal,” she told Nami, taking a seat next to her. “But our couch lost a foot. I’ll get Franky to fix it after he checks Sunny over.”

Nami nodded. “Thanks.”

Sanji chose this moment to emerge above deck, carrying a platter laden with two coffee mugs.

“For you, ladies.”

“These are cute, Sanji-kun,” Nami said, admiring the winking cat drawn in her coffee creamer. She glanced at Robin’s, which had a flower with heart-shaped petals. Sanji grinned and twirled the platter.

“Don’t I get any coffee?” Usopp asked.

“Make it yourself,” Sanji shot back. “You’re a big boy, you can work a coffee maker on your own.”

The two had almost finished their coffee when a downtrodden Chopper opened the door to the infirmary. “Ten of my beakers broke,” he informed them morosely. “Thankfully most of them were empty, but it was a pain to clean up all the glass. I’ll have to bolt their case down before the next storm.”

Suddenly, something whizzed past the side of the ship, almost too fast to see—and then rocketed into the water with a splash. Nami, Chopper, and Usopp rushed to the side of the ship and peered into the water in alarm, with Sanji looking on from behind.

“Was that a person?” Usopp asked, rightfully concerned.

“Whatever it was, it’s sinking fast,” said Chopper. “If it’s alive, I’ll—” He made as if to jump off the side, but Sanji held him fast.

“Oh no you don’t,” he said, putting out his cigarette. “You’re just dead weight in the water, remember?”

Chopper frowned. “Oh yeah. Sorry, Sanji.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll get ‘em.” Sanji handed him his cigarette and leapt from the ship, knifing into the water with hardly a splash. He resurfaced before the rest of them even had a chance to gather at the railing, dragging a severely injured person with him. Usopp let down the ship’s ladder, and Sanji carried his catch onto the deck. Robin lent a few hands to gently lower the injured person so Chopper could get a proper look.

“They’re not breathing,” Sanji informed him, wiping the water off his face. “Think they’re alive though.”

Chopper was well ahead of him, settling next to the unconscious stranger and opening his first aid kit. Diligently, he began performing CPR while the rest of the crew gathered to get a good look at the stranger.

“Looks like they’ve been in a fight,” Robin said, noting the blood that was mixed with the seawater and staining the deck.

“Is it a girl?” Usopp whispered to Sanji, who perked up and took a closer look at the stranger on the deck. Nami whacked them both.

“This isn’t the time to be ogling someone!” she hissed.

“I think you’re right,” Sanji muttered back to Usopp, wincing as Nami popped him another one.

Luckily, it was only a few seconds before the girl spluttered and coughed, retching and spitting up seawater. Chopper helped her sit up, looking relieved.

“No!” She groaned, face contorting in fear even while almost about to vomit. “No! I have to—I have to get back—!” She coughed, clutching her bloody stomach. “If I don’t get back that bastard’ll kill them!” Another wet cough, and she groaned. “It’s all my fault…no…”

Her voice cracked as she was wracked with pain and collapsed onto the deck once more. 

* * *

Deirdre opened her eyes slowly, wincing at the sudden pain registering all over—predominantly in her stomach. Adding on to that, her throat burned and a headache pounded behind her temples. Sweet sapphires, did it hurt.

“What the hell…?” she groaned coarsely, trying to sit up. Something hard stopped her, and she looked up through slitted eyes to see an odd looking (but very cute) creature resting its hoof firmly on her chest, determined eyes looking into her own.

“Don’t sit up just yet. Your stomach was cut pretty bad, and you swallowed a lot of seawater.”

It… talked? She supposed it was ridiculous to be surprised by talking animals, given that she was one as well. And at this point, she didn’t really care—the throbbing pain in the gut made sure she focused on the bigger picture here.

“What happened? What—where am I?” Panic rose to join her confusion as she remembered the fight she’d had with Zima and her impromptu flight into the ocean.

“I can’t—I need to leave,” she said, grunting with pain as she struggled to sit up, fighting the creature’s hold. She looked down, noticing her bandaged middle, where blood was already seeping through the cloth. With a start, she realized her old clothes were gone, replaced with an unfamiliar shirt and pants.

“You need to leave? Why?” came another voice, and she looked around to focus on the speaker. He was a small, wiry boy of about her age, with a curved scar under his left eye. He looked at her curiously, as if he was trying to come to some sort of judgment.

For a moment she was startled—someone this powerful was in the room, and she didn’t even notice? The pain must’ve dulled her senses. This kid’s aura was just…chock-full of confidence, to the point of overflowing. Just where had she landed herself? How much should she tell him?

Well, if she was dead anyway, she might as well be honest.

“I need to keep that bastard Popov from killing my family,” she said simply, trying again to sit up. This time the animal let her.

“Popov?”

“Benedikt Popov, the devil spawn that rules my island,” she explained, cracking her neck. “I don’t have much time. If Popov hears I escaped, he won’t be merciful. I’m out of chances to kill him quietly.” She held back a gasp of pain as her body registered the extent of her injuries. It was going to be a hell of a time trying to kill anyone with a six-inch gash in her gut, let alone Popov.

“Who are you guys?” she asked, looking between the two. “Why did you save me? Where am I?”

“I’m Luffy, the future Pirate King,” the boy answered immediately, and with startling confidence.

Deirdre blinked at him. The name was vaguely familiar, but she couldn’t seem to place it. She looked to the little creature at her side for clarity.

“I’m Chopper,” he said, pulling out a stethoscope and starting to check her heartbeat. “This is Luffy, our captain. You fell into the water right next to our ship, and I stitched you up.”

“Thank you, Chopper-chan, Luffy-kun,” she said. “I’m Deirdre Doran.”

“It’s no problem, Deirdre,” Luffy replied. “Chopper, can she walk?”

This guy was a captain? He didn’t talk like one. Deirdre decided not to be offended about the way he’d forgotten to use honorifics on her name—it was hard to be offended by someone so wide-eyed and friendly.

“Yeah, I can walk. This is nothing,” she bluffed, somehow managing to stand (albeit wobbly).

Chopper led her to the bathroom, where she finally got to take a good look at herself. Her face was all scratched up (no surprise there), with a rather large bandage covering where Zima had clawed her cheek, and a nice bruise already forming on her temple. She fixed her short hair back into its usual ponytail, and was glad there wasn’t any blood in it this time, even if it did smell like seawater. Not that it would have really been noticed, since her hair was close enough to the color of blood already.

She frowned at the bloodstain already forming on her borrowed shirt. These people were really helping her much more than she deserved—how could she pay them back?

After a few more moments gripping the sink and checking that she was halfway presentable, she left the bathroom. Chopper was waiting outside, and he smiled brightly when she appeared.

“You seem to be recovering pretty well! Why don’t you get some fresh air?”

Soon Deirdre was up and hobbling onto the deck of the ship, where some of the crew was waiting. She could tell they wanted to bombard her with questions, but were holding back to be polite. Thank goodness—she didn’t feel quite up to the task of answering anything right now. Chopper helped her settle onto a bench around the mast.

The extent of her situation hit her afresh, and she groaned suddenly, looking down at her stomach and then at Chopper. “I have to leave, _now_ ,” she said urgently. “My sisters are in danger. I have to go help them—“ she tried to stand and wobbled, gasping as new bloodstains spread on her borrowed shirt. Chopper forced her back on the chair, and she pressed a hand to her stomach.

“Sorry,” she said to no one in particular. “I got blood on this nice shirt…”

“Deirdre-san, I can’t let you leave,” Chopper said, transforming from his rather adorable self to a large and hulking figure and holding her firmly by the shoulders. “You’ve lost too much blood to do any fighting, your stitches will rip, _and_ you’ve almost drowned. I’d be a horrible doctor if I let you go.”

“But I have to go!” she cried out, tears of frustration threatening to spill. “Those bastards will _kill_ my little sisters! They might be doing it now—I can’t stay here!” She struggled to get out of his grip, but couldn’t. In desperation, she shifted—instantly, she was a large red and white dog, and she used Chopper’s surprise to wiggle free. She fell awkwardly from the beach chair, running to the side of the ship and looking over, dripping blood as she went—and wished for the second time that day that she had been born smart.

She was facing the open ocean. She couldn’t jump and swim to shore.

She turned, hackles raised, to see Luffy crouching in front of her, looking at her seriously.

“Deirdre, you want to save your sisters, right?” he asked, staring into her eyes.

“I’d die for them,” she answered, choking back tears. “Please, help me save my family.”

He stared a moment longer, eyebrows furrowed, then put a hand on his hat and stood.

“We’ll take you to them,” he said, turning to his crew. “Right, guys?”

They all nodded, and Deirdre collapsed in relief, tears flowing freely.

“ _Thank_ _you_ …!”

* * *

Later, while Chopper checked her stitches in the infirmary, Deirdre put a hand on his hoof, getting his attention.

“Thank you,” she said for what must have been the twentieth time, her eyes still closed.

“Of course, Deirdre-san,” he said, finishing up her bandages. She opened her eyes to see him give her a firm look.

“Don't change forms for a while, okay? It’ll mess up your stitches again. Wait at least a few days.”

She snorted softly. “I can’t promise anything. If I have to split a few stitches to keep my sisters safe, I won’t hesitate.”

“I figured,” Chopper grumbled uneasily, giving Deirdre the okay to stand up again.

Chopper was not happy about letting his patient potentially go and fight, but he decided it was better that they were all going along instead of letting her run off on her own. Besides, he was used to his patients (mainly Luffy) running off without healing properly. At least this one was willing to _try_ not to rip her stitches within fifteen minutes.

“C’mon, let’s go get you to the kitchen. When did you last eat?”

She paused, thinking. “Uhh, not since this morning.”

“Well, if you’re so determined to fight, you might as well do it with some food in you.” He took her hand in his tiny hoof and led her out to the kitchen, and she did her best not to giggle at how cute he was. The air was filled with a delicious smell, one of cooked meat and hearty vegetables. Her stomach growled as Chopper helped her sit. Nami and Usopp soon joined her, quickly followed by the rest of the crew. Thankfully, there were just enough seats for everyone.

Once everyone was in the kitchen, she bowed her head in gratitude. “My name is Deirdre Doran. Thank you for saving me,” she said politely.

She waited as patiently as she could while the rest of them introduced themselves, aching to run home and protect her family. Still, she made an effort and respectfully locked eyes with each person as they introduced themselves, even the strange skeleton man and the huge robot (who both looked pretty cool, even if a little weird).

And then she saw him. She should have recognized him right away (in fact, she would have if she hadn’t been a little distracted by her gaping stomach wound). She should have sensed his aura, too—even if there were half a dozen other ridiculously strong auras on this ship, his was still there, distinct and strong. It had changed a little—it had grown, even after only a few months, and for a split second she worried it might be the wrong person—but then their eyes met, and she couldn’t help but drop her spoon with a clatter.

“Zoro-kun!” Deirdre exclaimed, bolting upright—then bit back a groan. Ooh, she should not do that again.

Everyone was quiet, glancing between her and Zoro. She couldn’t read the look on his face, but oh, was she glad to see him.

“…Have we met?” he asked finally, and this time she did groan.

“Well, I didn’t think you would forget this fast…” she said with chagrin, sitting down again. “After you gave me a scar, too.” She gestured to one of the many tiny marks peppering her forearms.

Sanji paused in his serving food to glower murderously at Zoro. “Just what did you do to Deirdre-chan, you ass?” he seethed.

Zoro opened his mouth to give a biting reply, but Deirdre quickly put up her hands in a placating gesture. “Actually—I was the one who attacked him first—“

Recognition flashed in Zoro’s face. “You’re that dog that bought me drinks.”

She blushed a little. “Well, when you put it like _that_ …” she muttered, looking at the bowl of soup Sanji had placed before her.

Nami and Robin exchanged intrigued glances, silently agreeing to get all the details out of her later.

By now everyone had food—huge steaming bowls of soup perfect for the island’s autumn climate—and there were a few moments of silence as everyone dug in. Deirdre could almost cry, the food was so good. Her own cooking was middling at best, and she hadn’t had a proper home-cooked meal in _ages_.

She was beginning to think maybe she would have a hard time paying these people back for all their help.

“So you’re a Devil Fruit user, huh?” Usopp commented. “No wonder you sunk like a stone before.”

Deirdre nodded, mouth full. “Yeah, I’m a Zoan. I ate the Inu-Inu fruit a few years ago, so now I’m a malamute. I would show you again, but Doctor-chan says I shouldn’t shift unless absolutely necessary.”

“I said you shouldn’t shift at all!” Chopper protested from his seat beside her, trying to fight his blushing grin at the nickname. “And just cause you called me doctor doesn’t mean you can ignore my instructions, bastard!”

“Wait,” Luffy said through a huge mouthful of meat, “if you ate the Inu-Inu fruit, then shouldn’t you be a dog?”

“Malamute is a type of dog breed,” Robin informed him.

“We all saw her transform earlier, Luffy,” Usopp reminded him. “She definitely turned into a dog. Do malamutes usually get that big?” he asked, turning back to Deirdre, who shrugged.

“Dunno. Only malamute I’ve seen is me. And I only know it’s a malamute model because my little sister had a picture book on dog breeds.”

“Deirdre-san,” Brooke said, turning his vacant skull in her direction. Deirdre was still weirded out by his appearance, but so far he hadn't done anything to warrant fear. “You wouldn’t happen to have developed any… doglike interests?”

Deirdre looked at him blankly, spoon halfway to her mouth. “Huh?”

“You don’t feel the urge to, oh, I don’t know, gnaw on bones…do you?”

Deirdre couldn't help but smile a little. “No, not really. When I’m in full dog mode I might enjoy it, but not as a human.”

Brooke didn’t look any less concerned with her reply.

“I’m more interested in your sisters,” Sanji said from behind the counter. A strange look crossed his face. “How old are they? What are they like?”

Robin and Nami gave him a look, and Deirdre narrowed her eyes. She’d had more than enough practice beating up her sister’s potential suitors to catch his meaning. There was an ongoing tally at her house for how many teenage boys she had one-hit K.O.-ed after they rudely hit on Gerti. So far it was at thirty-four (some of them repeat offenders), and was only going to get higher as they got older.

“I suggest you stop that line of thought right there,” she said threateningly. “My sisters are all several years younger than me, and I’ll have you know I’m _very_ protective.” She didn’t care how handsome this man was or how well he cooked, no one could dare treat her little sisters that way and live. Sanji put his hands up in an “okay, I’ll back off” gesture.

“You’d really do anything for your sisters, wouldn’t you?” Nami asked, trying to change the subject.

Deirdre’s expression softened, and she set her spoon down. “Yeah,” she said quietly. “It’s what they deserve, after what I’ve dragged them into. I’d die before I’d let them get hurt.

“Sorry,” she said, blushing a little. “I didn’t mean to talk like that.”

Robin shook her head. “No, Deirdre-san. We understand.”

“Yeah!” Franky agreed emphatically, tears streaming. “A big sister’s love is super!”

“I’d like to know more about this Popov guy,” Zoro said, once again joining the conversation.

Deirdre shot him a look. “Okay, one: I already told _you_ basically all about this the first time we met. And two: where do I even start? He’s a horrible, manipulative, cowardly bastard who came to the island a few years ago and conned everyone out of land and money. Now he basically rules the place because he’s the only one with any money—everyone works for him, either directly or indirectly. He lives like a king, and its getting harder and harder to pay taxes because the bastard raises them so much.”

She didn’t catch the way Nami’s face hardened, or the way Sanji and Luffy glanced at their crewmate.

“And as if that weren’t enough,” she continued, “I found out about a year ago that he’s in the slave _and_ drug markets. Popov uses his free reign on this island to traffic goods around, including the slaves. People get snatched all the time now—especially young girls.” The weight of her words settled around the table, and Deirdre gripped her spoon tightly in an effort to control her emotions. “There’re rumors among his employees that he uses drugs to make them compliant, and that he keeps a number of them for himself.

“I tried to contact the Marines, someone, _anyone,_ about it, but all methods of communication are monitored by his subordinates. And I doubt the Marines would have done anything anyway, given their stance on the slave trade in Sabaody Park.”

She didn’t see the looks that passed between her audience, and continued.

“So I tried to take him down myself. Popov himself isn’t particularly strong—but his Devil Fruit power makes it near impossible to win as a Zoan. Otherwise, he’d be dead by now.” She jabbed the end of the spoon into the table, growling softly.

“After my first attempt, Popov used my family against me. He won’t kill me cause I’m useful. So he’s been holding them hostage, and making me ferry his drugs and slaves all over the Grand Line. But a few days ago, he found out I was freeing slaves and sabotaging his drug deals—so he imprisoned me in one of the mines, and said if I didn’t tell him where they were, he’d kill my sisters. This morning I escaped.

“The scumbag is vile, disgusting, and cruel, and I will kill him with my own hands if it means this whole thing will end.” She finished her impromptu speech with conviction, face contorted in anger and pain as she realized her nails had pierced her palm from holding the spoon too tightly.

“I don’t like this Popov guy,” Luffy said, his face serious. “I wanna kick his ass already.”

Deirdre frowned. She wanted more than anything to take him down herself—both to protect her family and to have the satisfaction of seeing his face just before she ripped it off. But she didn’t exactly have the best track record—maybe having Luffy take him out was the best idea? He certainly seemed more than strong enough—his aura was almost definitely the strongest on the ship, which really was saying something.

“No way,” Nami cut in. “We’re only here for a pit stop, you know. And we can’t just go after every small fry we come across. There’s not even a reward!”

Of course. She couldn’t expect some random group of pirates to come and save them. This was her mess (well, part of it). She’d end it.

“It makes sense he’d have a Devil Fruit power,” Robin said. “Do you know what it is?”

“Well, I don’t know all the details like the fruit name and stuff, but I _think_ he can control animals. When I tried to kill him he didn’t even have to raise a finger, he—he just said something, a command—and I couldn’t move. It was terrifying… but it explains why he has so many Zoan subordinates.”

“Zoan…” Robin murmured, deep in thought. “Hmm.”

Sanji began picking up bowls at this point, and both he and Chopper protested when Deirdre stood up to help.

“Deirdre-san,” Nami said, handing Sanji her bowl, “Do you think you could make a quick map of the island? It would help me decide the fastest route to get to your family.”

“Uh, I can try,” Deirdre said. “It might not be a hundred percent accurate, but I’ll give it a shot, yeah.”

After Deirdre’s best attempt at a map (which wasn’t bad for someone who hadn’t so much as glanced at one in two years), Nami decided the most efficient route to her home. The Sunny would skirt the island to avoid Popov’s men, more for Deirdre’s safety than anything else, and go inland as far as possible through the eastern delta. There was a hidden cove a little ways upriver that was deep enough for the Sunny, and from there they would—

“—What’d you say we should do from there? A boat?” Deirdre asked.

“Franky’s got that covered,” Nami assured her. “About how far is it from the cove to your house?”

“A good few miles. Maybe four or five?”

“Are there lots of outposts?”

Deirdre gestured one direction on the map. “There are less the deeper you go into the forest—” Another gesture. “—And the higher you go up the mountain. Each of the outpost groups aren’t particularly strong on their own, maybe fifteen to twenty armed men, but I don’t want to alert Popov or Zima to where I am right now, or that you guys are here at all. And if we get spotted, it’s basically game over for my sisters—that is, if Zima hasn’t been sent after them already.”

“Zima?”

“The one who knocked me flying into the ocean. He’s Popov’s second in command.” She rested her head on her chin, trying to think back. “I think I managed to tear off his leg, though, so if we’re lucky he can’t walk.”

The deck fell silent as everyone processed that statement.

Nami’s mouth opened slowly, as if she didn’t quite believe what she’d just heard. “You…you _tore_ his _leg_ off?”

Deirdre nearly growled, remembering. “The things he threatened to do—I should have taken his head off instead. Besides,” she continued, raising a hand in defense against everyone’s stares. “I’m not entirely sure it came off all the way—he was like, full polar bear at that point so it was pretty thick and like, sinewy? And he did send me flying right after, too, so I’m honestly not certain it even fazed the guy.”

Nami looked like she was going to barf, and Deirdre regretted mentioning it at all.

“Did you say polar bear?” Luffy asked, mouth wide in excitement.

Thankfully, that managed to swing the conversation from Deirdre’s attempt at dismemberment to the size ranges of animals and whether or not various crewmembers (or Deirdre) could take them on, which managed to last until they reached the cove.

It was tiny, just large enough to fit the Sunny through the entrance and just deep enough to avoid running aground.

Deirdre couldn’t help but scamper (well, try to) across the ship to watch as Franky lowered the anchor—she was enthralled with the way the lion’s paws were the anchors, and how they lowered with the pull of a crank.

“That’s kinda cute,” she called to Franky, grinning in delight. “You’re really ingenious, you know that?”

Franky couldn’t help but agree. “Just wait til you see what’s next, Deirdre-san!” He spun the helm a little to the right, then cranked the lever at his knee. A rumble shook the deck, and Deirdre peered over the edge to watch as the large number two on the side of the ship slid open and a little boat popped out.

“Nice!” she said loudly, admiring the little ram’s head at the front. “But will we all fit?”

“Not all of us are going,” Nami replied. “We’ll send a couple people to go with you to get your family, and the rest of us will stay here with the ship.”

“Okay, that makes sense,” Deirdre said, scratching her bandages over her shirt absentmindedly. “Who’s going then?”

“Should we draw straws again?” Robin asked. “Unless someone wants to volunteer.”

“I’m going for sure,” Chopper announced, emerging from the infirmary with a large pack. “Unless Deirdre-san promises not to rip her stitches,” he said, shooting a look at Deirdre, who shrugged.

“Well I guess you’re coming, then, Doctor-chan.”

Chopper frowned a little. When would he get a patient that listened?

“I’m going!” Luffy shouted, one leg already over the side of the ship.

Nami smacked him squarely on the head. “No! Deirdre-san needs to check on her family, not destroy the island. This is a stealth mission.”

“But Naaaamiiiiii, there’s nothing else to _dooo_!”

“Stealth. Mission!” Nami said through gritted teeth, punctuating each word with another yank on his ear.

“Buzzkill,” Luffy muttered, but relented.

“Y’know, nobody _has_ to come with me,” Deirdre said. “I don’t need to be babysat or anything. And you guys have done more than enough anyway.”

Luffy frowned, looking insulted. “Hey, we promised we’d get you to your family, right? So we’re going with you. Well, some of us.”

Deirdre sighed impatiently. “Okay, fine. So Doctor-chan is definitely coming along. Anyone else want to go?”

“I’ll go,” Sanji and Zoro said in unison. They glared at each other.

“What? No way. I’m the one going.”

“And why do you want to go, huh?”

“Because it’s so damn boring just waiting here!”

“Well there’s no way I’m letting an indelicate thug like you come along when there’s girls to protect!”

“Hey guys.” Brooke waved a hand between the two, getting their attention. “Deirdre-san already left.”

She was already aboard the Mini Merry II, Chopper chasing behind. “Deirdre-san, you shouldn’t make jumps like that with your injuries!”

Deirdre ignored him and called back up to the Sunny. “Hey! Stop wasting time—if you’re coming, get down here!”

After a brief, exasperated exchange of glances, the two leapt into the boat.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think I'll at least publish the stuff I already have written (maybe one or two more chapter's worth??) asap, so that I can get it out of my system lol


	3. Ashreaver

 

The ride was more tense than long, and Deirdre grew more and more fidgety the closer they got.

Were they okay? Had Zima gotten to them? Horrible images flashed through her mind, images of their broken, bleeding bodies, or of handcuffs on her sisters' wrists as they were dragged away. Zima's threats rang in her ears.

In an attempt to calm down, she gripped her knees so tight she drew blood.

"Are you feeling okay, Deirdre-san? You look a little pale," Chopper said, concerned.

"Y-yeah," Deirdre said, and looked apologetically at him. "Just… worried."

Zoro and Sanji had stopped their bickering a few miles back and now sat on opposite ends of the boat, watching the forest sail by. If she hadn't been so anxious, Deirdre would have felt awkward about their silence. As it was, she appreciated that they'd stop arguing like children.

Sanji glanced over, wanting to relieve a little tension but not quite knowing how.

"Deirdre-chan, how many sisters do you have?"

Deirdre looked up, suspicion now mixing into her face. "Why?"

"Just asking. I was tired of the silence."

She sighed. Might as well—there was at least a few minutes to kill, and it was probably better for her to talk out her anxiety.

"Well, there's… hold on a sec…" she began counting on her fingers, not noticing how Sanji's eyes bugged as she quickly ran out.

"Ah, right. There's twelve of us now."

Zoro opened and closed his mouth quickly as Sanji's cigarette dropped to the floor of the boat. Chopper tried to remember what the normal number of siblings was for humans (was it one? Two?). Sanji shot Zoro a look that asked: _did you know about this?_

" _Twelve_?"

"Well, only three of them are my biological sisters. The rest are…adoptive."

"Your parents adopted eight kids?!"

"No," Deirdre said crossly. "I did!"

"…What?"

She checked her surroundings again and turned back to Sanji. "The short version is, they're all girls I hid so they wouldn't become slaves. There's an underground railroad on the island, and whenever I can I sneak slaves there, but—these kids don't have anywhere to go back to, so I… I take care of them."

"You? What about your parents?"

"…My parents died. Five years ago."

Sanji and Zoro looked uncomfortable. Chopper laid a comforting hoof on Deirdre's arm. "I'm sorry."

She nodded. "It's okay now. I make just enough money with this job to support all of us. But now Popov knows about them, and all eleven of them are in danger."

"Were do they live, then? The other eight?"

"They live at my parents' old bunker—they were really into living below the radar and had it prepared in case something happened. It's got food storage and beds and everything, and I take supplies there every week. It's not the best, and I've been trying to find safe homes for them, but in the meantime they live there."

As a child she had watched her father make the blueprints for the bunker, watched her parents work together to build it in their free time. She'd helped them organize the food storage and emergency supplies every year since she was six, and then without them for the last five years. It was a storm shelter, a hiding place. It was the only safe place she could think of for these girls.

"Deirdre-san, how far are we?" Chopper asked, as the mountain began to loom ever closer.

Deirdre swallowed. "We should get there in a few minutes. The house is just over that ridge."

They landed the boat, and Chopper scrambled out first to help his patient (much to her irritation). Deirdre's patience was running rather thin with this whole "injured" business—why couldn't she just force herself to heal already? It was really getting in the way.

The apple orchard was beautiful this time of year, all red and gold and yellow—but Deirdre was too anxious to take it in at the moment. She hiked as fast as her injuries would let her (which was still pretty fast, if painful) up the riverbank, swallowing back a cry of hope when she caught sight of it through the trees. The tiny farmhouse was well camouflaged, hidden in such a way that it was only visible once you came within a hundred feet of it.

She was home, but was she in time?

"I'll check the window," Deirdre whispered. "They might already be here."

The other three waited a moment at the edge of the forest (they had only just spotted it themselves) as she peeked inside the window.

"Oh no," Deirdre breathed, pushing off from the ledge and dashing into the house, pain temporarily forgotten. The others followed close behind—Zoro already had one hand on the hilt of his sword.

The front door was wide open, almost completely torn off its hinges. Dishes and silverware were scattered and shattered all over the front room, and it looked like a large animal had knocked over half the furniture. Claw marks littered the walls and floorboards.

Deirdre stood frozen and speechless in the entrance as Chopper, Sanji, and Zoro walked in past her.

"What the hell?" Sanji muttered, picking up a piece of a plate.

"Looks like we weren't fast enough…" Zoro said quietly, already on his way to check the back rooms.

"That's odd…" Chopper looked up from his inspection of the kitchen. "There's no blood anywhere."

Deirdre's head snapped up. "What?"

"He's right," Zoro called from the back. "None over here."

"None here either," Sanji affirmed.

"Okay, that's—that's good, right?" Please, let it be good.

"Not necessarily," Zoro replied grimly. "It just means that blood never got on anything in here. It doesn't mean they didn't bleed at all."

Deirdre grit her teeth and cursed. What was she doing just standing here?! There were eleven girls in her care, and she was doing a miserable job of it. What would Mom and Dad think?

Mom and Dad.

Numbly, she walked to the corner of what used to be the living room. Her parents' shrine was toppled over on its side, the photograph crumpled on the floor. She knelt and picked it up to see her mother and father smiling up at her, dressed in their wedding clothes. Carefully, she flattened it out—and noticed the writing on the bottom. Hastily scribbled in pen was the message:

_D, TITPBTJLY NHMJ QRMPR. CTHN_

"What does 'titpubtishly' mean?"

She startled, looking up to see Zoro leaning curiously over her shoulder. Geez, didn't the man make any _sound_ when he moved?

Deirdre ignored the way Sanji's head snapped up when he heard the word "tit." "It's a code. I think."

"From who?"

"It's gotta be from Orma. She's always writing stuff like this with Lindy," she said, examining the back of the photograph for more. The only other writing on the photo was a small circular squiggle.

"You sure?"

"Yeah— See this little symbol at the bottom? It's Orma's stamp." Deirdre had lost count of the times she'd seen the small girl doodling the symbol over and over on her books. It gave a little comfort to see this reminder of calmer times.

"Can you decode it?"

"Uh…" Deirdre faltered. She hated to admit it, but she wasn't very good at this sort of stuff. The more academic joys of life had always eluded her, and this code was no exception.

"Maybe Robin could do it?" Chopper suggested.

"I hope so. If it wasn't important, Orma would have written it plainly."

She folded the picture quickly, offering a silent prayer to her parents' spirits before tucking the photo securely into her pants pocket. As she did so her eyes fell on the old axe on the floor—knocked from its honored place above the shrine by the intruders.

Her mother's axe. Romola's Reaver.

Her mother had shown Deirdre this axe when she was five, warning her of the sharpness of the blade and the weight of the shaft, how it was much too dangerous for a small child. She had watched Romola scare off wolves with that axe, chop wood with it in winter. The girls all thought it was blessed somehow—with that axe in hand, their mother had never lost a fight. They had hung it above the shrine after the funeral, taking it down only to polish and sharpen it.

She picked it up now, feeling the smooth whorls in the wood grain, the easy weight of it in her palm. Emotion rose in her throat as she stood, leaning on Reaver for support.

"What do you wanna do now, Deirdre-san?"

Deirdre bit her lip. "It's possible that they're all in the shelter. I need to go and check there anyway." Gerti knew where the bunker was, and if she was home when they left—But what if she wasn't? The possibilities began to overwhelm her, and she quickly shut it down. Going to the shelter was the best idea right now—she needed to let Griski and the others know what was going on too. If Gerti, Orma, and Appi were with them, then great. If not, she was sure that her adoptive sisters would help her find them.

"All right then." The others exited first, giving her time to take one final look around her home. Was this goodbye? As she turned away, she didn't have an answer.

And she didn't have time, either—suddenly, the clearing was filled with the sound of fifty rifles being cocked. She glanced back, noticing the uniform of Popov's hired mercenaries. 

"Looks like our cover's blown," Zoro said nonchalantly as the soldiers ringed the clearing.

"Nice observation, Mister Obvious," Sanji mocked.

Deirdre grimaced. What was it with Popov's men and wasting her time? It was like they all had a bet going to see who could piss her off the most. These men weren't even worth her trouble, really—she could tell from their auras alone that they didn't stand up to comparison. But as confident as she was in her new allies' strength, they _really_ didn't have the time for this.

"See, I knew you idiots missed some trash."

She turned to see a skinny, greasy-looking man exiting the forest to stand in front of the shooters. He lit a cigarette and sneered like he wanted someone to count his teeth (which wouldn't take very long).

"Utkin," she growled. "I'd recognize your foul smell anywhere. Still working on that 'longest time without a shower' record?"

The trash talking was mostly to ease her anxiety, and it definitely made her feel better to see the smile drop momentarily from Utkin's face. And if that power-hungry weakling was here instead of Zima—maybe she really had ripped that leg off? She could only hope so.

Utkin resumed smiling, eager to insult Deirdre. "Hello, Doran! Looking for someone?"

Okay, the fun was over. If this scum knew anything, she was going to rip it out of him.

"Where are my sisters, you slimy piece of crap?"

"Like I'd tell _you_ ," he scoffed, delighted. "Oh, don't worry, they'll be dead soon. We're tracking them down as we speak."

So they hadn't been caught yet. It wasn't too late.

She lurched forward to transform and attack—and promptly toppled over, grunting in pain. Chopper caught her just in time, giving her just enough dignity not to fall flat on her face in front of the enemy.

Cursing, she leaned heavily on Chopper, somehow managing to stay upright.

"If you touch one hair on them, I _swear_ I'll—"

"You'll what? Lick us to death? Why don't you stop wasting everyone's time and just tell me where you hid the slaves you stole, and we'll let you and your sisters live."

She glared with as much disgust as she could muster (which was a considerable amount) to hide the sinking in her stomach.

"Go to hell."

Utkin grew more gleeful by the second—he knew perfectly well that Deirdre was powerless.

"Ladies first," he drawled, and signaled to someone behind her.

She whipped her head around to see a man standing in the threshold of her home—a lit match falling from his hand.

The scumbags must've been pouring gasoline while Utkin distracted her; the wood floor caught fire suddenly and violently. Within heartbeats, it spread to the debris on the floor, to the walls—and then the thatched roof caught fire, and she knew in her heart the whole thing was damned. The orchard went just as quickly, and the landscape was painted red and orange before her eyes.

This bastard was burning her childhood home to the ground, and she couldn't do anything but watch.

"I will rip your throat out and feed it to you, I _swear_ ," she shouted. Reaver was still in her hand, she could still take a swing; who cared if it hurt like hell.

"That's it—we're getting out of here," Sanji muttered to Deirdre. "Chopper, you can handle Deirdre-chan, right?"

He nodded, shifting form under her. "Hop on and hold on tight," he advised.

"What are you whispering about?" Utkin asked warily. He was getting a bad feeling about this. These strangers weren't properly intimidated, and that was never good.

She clambered atop Chopper's back and had just barely gripped his fur in her free hand when he jolted upward, easily clearing the heads of the soldiers and landing a good dozen yards away.

"Whoa!" she gasped in surprise. "That's awesome, Doctor-chan!"

"If only Luffy were here," Chopper said, more to himself than anything. "He could take them all out with the King's Haki."

Just as Deirdre made a mental note to ask about this "haki" thing later, Zoro unsheathed a single sword.

"Don't kill them, Zoro," Chopper called.

"Don't worry," he grunted. "They're not worth the effort."

And then he moved so fast Deirdre's eyes could barely keep up—she had to follow his aura to get a sense of his movements at all. In less than three lightning-fast swipes, all fifty men were on the ground—and not even one of them managed to get a shot off. Their screams of pain and alarm chorused around Zoro as he sheathed his sword and walked past the cowering Utkin.

"Tell your boss that if he wants Deirdre, he'll have to get through us first."

Utkin only stared, eyes wide. Deirdre could see his gibbering and shivering even at this distance. Served him right, the coward. She only wished she'd been the one to do it.

Sanji frowned, a little peeved that Zoro stole the spotlight. Still, he joined the rest as they headed back down the ridge to the boat.

It wasn't until they were floating back down the river that someone spoke.

"Deirdre-san, you're bleeding again!" Chopper said in mild alarm, back in his tiny form. "I need to check if you've ripped your stitches." He made as if to lift the hem of her shirt, but stopped when she pulled away stiffly.

"Can't it wait til we're back on the ship?" she whispered harshly, clearly panicked as she folded her arms tightly over her stomach. Zoro and Sanji glanced over, curious. Deirdre looked at Chopper with pleading eyes. Sweet sapphires, she hoped he wouldn't make her take off her shirt in front of two men she barely knew.

"It'd be worse for everyone if your stitches are ripped. Don't you want to heal?" Chopper argued, already opening his pack.

She bit her lip, weighing her sense of modesty against her desire to fight.

"Fine," she grumbled, and lifted the hem of her shirt just high enough to reveal the bandages around her abdomen. She really did _not_ want those two to see her bra.

Chopper set to work removing her bandages as Deirdre pointedly looked anywhere but Zoro and Sanji.

"You're lucky," Chopper said, satisfied with his work. "You haven't ripped them. We'll need to change your bandages once we get back to the Sunny, though."

"Good," she said, tugging her shirt back down. Something was bugging her, though, through the numbness.

_He'll have to get through us first._

There it was. She'd dragged even more people into this mess. Wasn't eleven enough? Why wasn't she strong enough to kill Popov? Or even Zima?

She knew why. She'd allowed Zima's poisonous words to get to her. She'd panicked and hesitated, when she should have been ripping his head off his shoulders. He'd gotten to her, and now all of her sisters were in grave danger. And now, she had this blasted gash in her gut and couldn't even fight _Utkin_. Utkin, for Pete's sake! The man was practically _begging_ to be a punching bag! This was such a disgrace.

Even so, it was…touching, at least, to hear it from these near-strangers. It was something she'd say about her family.

It was enough to make up her mind.

* * *

 

Usopp was the first to spot their return, calling out from the crow's nest.

"They're back! What took you guys so long? Where are your sisters?"

They pulled up alongside the ship, and Chopper spent a few seconds arguing with Deirdre about how she would get up on deck. He decided to allow her to climb the rope ladder unaided, although he wished she would listen to him about straining herself.

"We were nearly caught at Deirdre-san's house," Chopper informed them as he leapt nimbly onto the Sunny, Reaver strapped to his back.

"We were not 'nearly caught'! I coulda slaughtered those guys," Sanji protested.

Zoro scoffed. "You're just butthurt that I was the one who took them all out."

Deirdre rolled her eyes as she finally pulled herself up over the side of the Sunny. "Either way, this 'stealth mission' was still a failure."

"What? Why not?"

"The house was wrecked and empty. They're alive, but I don't know where. Some of Popov's crew got in the way before I could try to follow their scent."

Well, there were several iffy details about that particular plan—for one, shifting was going to rip her a new one. She was also sure Gerti would backtrack to confuse the trail, anyway, so it probably wouldn't have worked. Still, it would have been worth trying before Utkin showed up.

She went to Chopper and retrieved Reaver, finally making up her mind.

"Luffy-kun, I—" she started, and bowed her head suddenly. The gesture was unusual for her, but it didn't matter. If there was a chance to save them all, she would bow a hundred times.

"Please help me destroy Popov and his crew," she said, raising her head to look at Luffy once again. When no one spoke she continued. "I can't do it with these injuries, and there's no one else I can ask for help. I'm running out of chances. I need to find and protect my sisters,and taking him down is the best way to do that."

Everyone was silent, watching as Luffy stared back with the same intensity he'd had earlier that day. Her hope and confidence almost faltered, and in determination she let out one last plea.

"I can't do this by myself. Please."

All eyes were on Luffy as he made his decision.

"Don't worry about it, Deirdre. We'll help." Just as before, he turned to his crew. "Right, guys?"

Deirdre's heart lifted as they chorused a round of affirmatives once again.

"We're not gonna tear off any limbs, though," Usopp quipped. "That's just gross."

"That's fair," she agreed, smiling for the first time in days.

* * *

 Deirdre, Chopper, Zoro, and Sanji spent about ten minutes filling everyone else in on what had happened so far, and then spent another half hour discussing what to do. By the end of it Deirdre was ready to pull her hair out. Trying to make up a plan with Luffy and the entire crew was near impossible, and that mixed with her frustration at her lack of knowledge and current state was nigh unbearable. But she put up with it, and by the end they had some semblance of a plan. It might actually work, too, which was a plus.

Eventually, it was decided that all of them would head out from the Sunny at dusk to search the island for the missing sisters, and then split up from there. Half would stay and hold down the fort at the bunker, protecting the girls, while the other half would hunt down Popov and his men. Deirdre was all for this plan, especially the latter part.

After the discussion, Deirdre pulled the folded photograph from her pants pocket and handed it to Robin.

"What is it, Deirdre-san?"

"Robin-san, do you think you can crack this code? It's from one of my sisters."

"Hmm… it looks like it's a rather simple substitution cipher. It shouldn't be hard to figure out. I'll get to it right away."

"Thank you, Robin-san."

Once again, Chopper ushered her to the infirmary, this time for painkillers and a quick bandage change.

"Deirdre-san," he said quietly, looking at her with his kind doe eyes, "Are you doing okay?"

She huffed a confused laugh. "You're the doctor—should I be worried?"

"That's not what I meant," he frowned. "You've had a lot of emotional trauma recently. I'm not a psychologist, so I'm probably not the best person for the job, but—if you need to talk to someone about it, I'm here."

Tears threatened to spill for the second time that day, and Deirdre mentally cursed her tear glands as she gave the little reindeer a soft smile.

"Thanks, Doctor-chan."

Later, Deirdre hid herself in the crow's nest for a much-appreciated moment of solitude. There was a few hours still left until dusk, and she needed the rest. She sat cross-legged in one of the bay windows, holding Reaver close.

This time, she let the tears flow.

Her home was gone. Her sisters were missing. She could barely walk, let alone fight. There was a murderous, slave trading drug lord after her family, and it was all her fault. If only she had never walked into Popov's office three years ago and asked for a job. If only she'd been there the day her parents went into the mines. If only she'd never eaten that stupid fruit.

For a good ten minutes she just sat there in the dark, crying silently into Reaver's handle. This was the only thing left of her home, of her mother—her father's camera had broken for good a year ago, despite Appi's best efforts.

"Mom, Dad," she whispered, "I'm so sorry. I'll get them all back safe, I promise."

After a while she fell asleep and dreamt of burning apples.

* * *

 

She woke suddenly, all her senses screaming of danger. She shot up, scrabbling for Reaver and pointing it at her attacker—

It was Zoro, standing beside her with his arms folded. She must've sensed his aura in her sleep—another survival instinct she'd developed in the past year.

"Oh, sweet sapphires, it's just you." Deirdre lowered the axe, blushing a little. "Sorry."

"The sun's about to set," he said.

"Thanks for waking me." She made as if to get up, wincing as she swung her legs off the window seat.

Zoro silently stuck out his hand, the look on his face daring her to say something.

She didn't, just took the offered hand and stood.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is a little shorter, but I felt it ended at the right spot. Reviews/comments appreciated :0


	4. The Heart On Her Sleeve And The Cuffs On Her Wrists

There were only a few hours until dusk fell, and Zoro planned to get his day's worth of sleep. He headed to his usual spot, only to find that the crow's nest was already occupied. He paused, his hand on the doorknob, ready to kick out whoever was in his space—and then he heard it.

Crying. The kind he'd only heard a few times—the near-silent weeping of someone in deeply buried emotional distress. He peeked surreptitiously through one of the windows, confirming his gut instinct: it was Deirdre, sobbing into her axe in one of the bay windows.

Not something he wanted to walk in on, even if it was in his favorite room.

He waited a moment outside the door, sighing to himself when he realized the crying likely wasn't to end soon. Frowning, he sat with his back to the door, placing his swords beside him. No one else had to see this either.

The late afternoon air had a bit of a bite to it, but that did little to stop him from dozing off—only to be awoken what felt like minutes later by someone poking him in the face.

"Hey, Zoro," Nami said quietly, poking him again. She sat down next to him, curiosity oozing off her.

The sun had sunk even lower in the sky—dusk was not far off. Already his fingers itched to have even a hint of action. The three simple slashes hours earlier hadn't even been appetizers compared to a real fight, but they'd gotten him in a slicing mood.

He glanced at her, irritated. "What." His look was intended to scare her off, but it never seemed to work with Nami. She brushed the look off and sent one of her own—a steeped curiosity laced with amusement, before launching the question she'd obviously been holding back as long as possible.

"What's the story with you and Deirdre-san?"

He scoffed. Was there even a story?

"Not much to tell. She got me to help with one of her sabotage schemes, then bought me drinks as thanks."

He kept his voice quiet, remembering that Deirdre was still behind the door. It was silent now—she probably fell asleep too. Well, it was good at least one of them got some rest.

Nami wasn't satisfied by this answer. He could tell, and braced himself for another round of questioning. "When was this?"

"About three months back, I guess. A while." Long enough to forget most of what she looked like, and definitely long enough to forget her name.

"Hmm. And you just forgot about her? Nice going."

He frowned, defensive. "Well it's not like I was expecting to ever see her again." What, did Nami expect him to memorize every strange girl he ever came across?

"Still, you should keep track of the dates you go on," Nami said, inspecting her nails idly. She glanced sidelong at him, gauging his reaction.

It went over about as well as she'd predicted. Zoro's jaw dropped in disbelief. " _Dates_?"

"Well what else would it be? You went somewhere together, didn't you? She bought you drinks too—that's a sure sign."

"A sign of what?"

"That she likes you, idiot."

Another scoff. "Yeah, right."

"No, I'm serious. You saw how happy she was when she recognized you earlier, didn't you?"

He had indeed noticed the way Deirdre's face reddened, how her aura had flared to life when she said his name. He'd put it down to her injuries, making her emotions and energy spike at random. And his skill at observation haki wasn't the strongest anyway, so it wasn't like he had intimate knowledge of the girl's emotions. But it was just because he was a familiar face… right?

"Whatever," he grunted. This was not a conversation he wanted to have right now (or ever), especially not with the girl in question behind the door. "Even if she does, it's not important."

Nami narrowed her eyes at him. "I oughta smack you," she muttered.

"For what? I'm just saying it like it is."

She gave him a long, hard look. "You know I hope I'm wrong, for her sake. Lord knows she's got enough on her plate without having to worry about you too. Especially with that attitude."

He rolled his good eye. "Uh-huh."

She was right though. It would definitely be better for Deirdre if Nami were wrong. It would certainly be more convenient.

Nami got up, rolling her eyes and muttering something he couldn't make out. He closed his eye again and leaned back against the door, but found himself unable to sleep.

Just as well—the sun was near setting by now, and they still had to get ready to head out. He stood and stretched—the most luxurious part of napping, in his opinion, was the stretching afterwards—and opened the door to the crow's nest.

Zoro had guessed right—Deirdre had indeed fallen asleep, lying in one of the bay window seats, her absurdly large axe cradled in her arms. He stared thoughtfully for a long moment, noting the way her hair had escaped its ponytail and draped over her face. Even in sleep she was tense—her fingers and brows twitching occasionally, as if she was in the midst of a nightmare. With one hand she clutched the axe to her chest, the other wrapped around her abdomen.

She must've sensed him approaching in her sleep—in an instant the axe was pointed at his face. For a moment they just stared at each other, her heavy breathing the only sound.

She exhaled deeply, lowering the axe. "Oh, sweet sapphires. It's just you."

He consciously ignored the way her cheeks flushed, the way her hand reverently gripped the handle of her axe, and  _especially_  the way her shirt collar dipped just enough for him to glimpse the skin beneath. So busy ignoring it that he almost missed what she was saying at all.

"The sun's about to set," he said, already mentally berating himself. Ugh—just what kind of fool was he becoming? He blamed Nami for putting this stupid idea in his head.

Deirdre didn't seem to notice his inner turmoil, though. "Thanks for waking me." She struggled to sit upright.

Without thinking, he stuck out his hand, eye glued to hers.

 _Don't you dare say anything_ , he thought, partly to her and partly to himself.

She didn't. He tried to ignore the way her hand felt in his as he pulled her up.

* * *

Deirdre was getting pretty good at finding her way around the ship now (as long as it was between the deck, infirmary, and kitchen), she realized, as she made her way to the infirmary for what must've been the fifth time that day.

She picked up a scrap of bandage as Chopper gave her another round of painkillers. "Can I have this?" she asked.

He looked concerned. "Why? Are you hurt anywhere else?"

"Oh, no," she said. "I just don't feel right without something on my wrist." She motioned to her left wrist, which bore a vaguely heart-shaped birthmark about the size of a 500-Beri coin. It was a running joke in her family that she wore her heart on her sleeve. She'd taken to covering it as a child, after she'd noticed the disdainful looks and half-hidden whispers.

"Sure, then. As long as you're okay." Chopper looked like he had something else to say, but held it back out of politeness.

She flashed a quick placating smile. "Yep! Don't worry about me."

Chopper frowned. " _Why_  do all my patients say that?" he muttered to himself.

Expertly, she wrapped the strip around her wrist and used her teeth to tie it securely in place. Much better. Her old wristband (a gift from Orma) had vanished in the ocean, she supposed—she'd had it on when she was captured, but by the time she ended up on the Sunny it was gone. She'd felt a little exposed without it.

Chopper gave her one last look-over, finally setting her free once satisfied. "You should get something to eat before we leave. I'm sure Sanji will make you something."

Food sounded really good right then. She gently refused Chopper's offer to escort her there, deciding it was better to walk as far as she could on her own. The kitchen wasn't that far away, anyway.

Sanji looked surprised to see her in the kitchen, but pleased nonetheless. "Ah, Deirdre-chan! How are you doing?" he asked, pausing from doing the dishes.

"Better. I took a little nap," she said, taking a seat at the counter.

"Can I make you anything? Tea, coffee, a sandwich?"

"Something warm would be great. This island gets pretty cold at night." She swung her feet to relieve some of her tension; reminded of the time she got frostbite from staying out too late.

He grinned. "Of course. Anything for you, Deirdre-chan."

Deirdre gave a mildly uncomfortable smile in return. She figured he meant well, but it was weird to have a guy use such a cutesy honorific for her. No one had called her 'Deirdre–chan' in a  _long_  time—at least, no one besides her sisters. Certainly not some guy her age.

All that discomfort flew away, however, when he presented her with a large, steaming mug of coffee.

"Ah, almost forgot," Sanji said, pulling the mug back towards him. "You like cream, I hope?"

Deirdre nodded. From seemingly out of nowhere he produced another cup, this one full of creamer, which he poured effortlessly in. In one fluid movement he finished pouring and used a spoon to shape it. Satisfied with his creation, he handed the mug back over.

There was now a dog's face smiling up at her from the cream. She gave a little half grin in return. "Aw, cute. Thanks, Sanji-kun."

He waved his hand dismissively. "Don't mention it, my lovely Deirdre-chan."

The grin became rather strained, almost a grimace. The honorific was one thing, but if he kept up this 'lovely' stuff there was gonna be words.

She turned to the coffee for solace (the dog really was cute though), and was halfway through it when Robin sat down next to her at the counter.

"You should see this."

She turned to see Robin holding out the photo of her parents.

"You figured it out?"

"Yes," she replied. "Your sister is a smart girl, you know. The keyword for the cipher was 'malamute.'"

Deirdre flipped the photo over, and saw Robin's neat handwriting underneath her sister's:

EMERGENCY PLAN START. HELP

"Oh, crap."

"I take it you know what the 'emergency plan' means, then?"

Deirdre sighed, rubbing her forehead. "Yeah—it means they're going to head for the bunker."

Sanji looked over his shoulder at them. "That's where we're headed anyway, right? Isn't that good?"

"It would be," Robin answered. "If they weren't being tracked by the enemy."

"Shit, you're right."

Deirdre groaned and cursed. "They're gonna lead Popov right to the others."

Their parents had taught them the basics of tracking (and how to avoid being tracked), but she didn't know just how much they remembered of it—especially considering the stress they must be feeling. And with so many Zoan on his payroll, there was bound to be someone good enough at following scent trails to find them (and get a nice bonus of the eight 'stolen' girls when they did).

She stood, wincing in pain, and grabbed Reaver. "We gotta go  _now_. No more wasting time."

* * *

As Nami had predicted and Deirdre confirmed, the dusk brought with it a harsh chill and a promise of freezing rain. After a rather quick argument, it was decided that Deirdre would ride on Chopper (in his natural, quadruped form)—to which she only agreed once she was reminded how much slower walking on her own would be. Nami had handed her a large leather jacket, an odd gleam in her eye. Deirdre accepted it anyway, preferring Nami's look to the threat of freezing wind rain on her skin.

"I wouldn't mind carrying her," Sanji muttered, unheard.

"Okay, Deirdre," Luffy said, tying his hat securely in place. "Lead the way."

They set out, relying on Deirdre's memory of the landscape to navigate the woods surrounding the coast. It was more or less a straight shot from the cove to the bunker, and they'd even be able to avoid the town. Diamond City was just teeming with Popov's men, not to mention the less-than-friendly townspeople.

As precautions when building the bunker, Yuli and Romola had decided to keep it several miles away from the town limits, as well as to situate it within the mountain itself. Even after the mines had reopened, there were enough superstitious rumors to keep any self-preserving citizen from wandering the mountainside. Her parents had relied on those rumors to provide an extra layer of security—there was a high chance that, given the popular opinion on their family, if they needed to use the bunker they wouldn't want the townspeople to know about it.

The bunker was her family's safe space, their shelter in the storm. And now Popov was probably headed straight there. Worry rose in her throat. She didn't bother to squash it down as hard as usual, too busy trying to make out the best trail.

About ten minutes into their trek, Robin surreptitiously made her way next to Deirdre and Chopper, a curious gleam in her eye.

"Deirdre-san," she began, keeping her voice low so only they could hear it. "I've been meaning to ask you something. I'm sure Nami would like to know your reply as well."

"What is it?" Deirdre's eyes were glued to the trees ahead, scanning for familiar landmarks in the almost-dark.

"What's your relationship with Zoro?" Robin spoke casually, but the way she studied Deirdre for a reaction belied her interest.

Well  _that_  was completely out of left field.

"What? With Zoro-kun?" Despite her best efforts, a bit of a blush rose to her face. She glanced to the back of the group, where he was positioned beside Luffy and Nami.

Chopper piped up from below her. "Actually, I've been wondering about that too."

She sighed. "There's nothing interesting, I promise. He was just at the right place at the right time, and I took advantage of the opportunity."

Robin lifted a brow, her expression making Deirdre realize the innuendo.

"Not like  _that_! I was looking for a way to sabotage a drug deal without getting caught, and suddenly there he was, looking fit to fight anything that got in his way. So I did, and it worked."

"And the buying him drinks?"

"Just a thank-you," Deirdre said firmly, wishing Zoro hadn't blurted it out. "I don't make a habit of buying strangers drinks."

"Maybe you should. That turned out a rather fortuitous event."

She sighed, spotting the lightning-struck tree and purplish boulder that meant they needed to head more northeast. "Don't I know it. It's a miracle, it is." She could imagine several alternate scenarios where she didn't have the Strawhats backing her, and none of them were good.

Robin seemed to be satisfied, and turned the discussion towards the island's history (much to Deirdre's relief). Chopper had told her all about his crewmates while he changed her bandages, and she remembered that Robin was an archeologist from some far off island in West Blue. Deirdre related what she could—academic pursuits had never been her strong point, and she'd never really felt interested by anything the town's measly schoolhouse had to offer. She'd learned her letters and a little maths, and that was about the extent of it.

"Well, from what my dad told me, this island has been a mining economy for as long as anyone could remember—sixty or seventy years, at the very least. For a while the island prospered. They used to say you could stick your hand into the mountainside and come back out with a diamond. And then, about twenty-five years ago, there was a horrible mine explosion. One hundred and thirty-seven dead, four hundred and eight injured, and more than a hundred missing."

Deirdre recited the numbers with the ease of a child reciting a nursery rhyme. She'd heard these numbers all her life, but only really understood them for the past few years.

"They say it was cause they got too greedy and went after the fairy of the mountain, dug too deep too fast, didn't use the right methods to clear the shafts. It took out half of Diamond City, the largest town on the island, and almost all the entrances to the mines were destroyed—not to mention the mine shafts themselves. There had been minor accidents and explosions before, but none this bad. The mines closed permanently, and folk tried to make their living on the earth and sea."

She gestured to the high cliffs of the coast, where (if you squinted) rickety wooden walkways, stairs, and ladders zigzagged down to the nearly empty docks below. "You can see how well that's worked out. Everybody's poorer than a possum in winter, and thought Popov a godsend when he reopened the mines."

She bared her teeth in disgust when she said his name.

"And they just went back to working in the mines again, after they were closed for two decades?"

"Not immediately—for a while almost everyone was too superstitious to go back in the mines. Tales of the fairy of the mountain were enough to keep people away for a few months—until they decided that the hope of diamonds was better than the fear of her retribution."

Chopper looked over his shoulder at her. "Wait, is there actually a fairy in the mountain?"

"Dunno. Folks certainly believe it here though. There's not a lot of proof, really, just stories—but almost all the accidents here are blamed on her being upset."

 _And all the rest are blamed on my family_ , she wanted to add, but stopped herself.

"I personally don't think much about her, aside from telling the tales around the fire. It's entertaining, even if it isn't true."

"I'd love to hear them," Robin said. "Maybe once this is over, you'll regale us with them?"

Her tone had some layer to them Deirdre couldn't identify. Hope? Or just plain scholarly curiosity? Either way, she nodded. "Luck permitting, I'd be glad to sit with you guys around a campfire soon."

Of course, they had to get through tonight first. Deirdre would relax once Popov was dealt with, and not a moment sooner.

It took another forty-five minutes of hiking the nearly hidden forest trails, but they finally made it to the foot of the mountain where the bunker was nestled. The foothills had risen at an amiable angle, scraping inward from the steep cliffs of the shores towards the mountain. It rose from the ground steep and intimidating, buffered only by the towering deciduous forests at its base. Cliffs peppered the sides all the way to the peak, which formed a crisp angle. No one had dared settle atop it in centuries, and if you squinted you could spot the ruins above. The fading dusk light painted everything a somber grayish-blue.

But Deirdre turned their attention to a steep dip in the landscape, like a scoop had been taken from the base of the mountain. Trees and shrubbery camouflaged the angle of the ground as well as a door built right into the mountainside—which burst open almost as soon as they came across it.

A dark shape hurtled straight towards Deirdre, but was stopped in its tracks by a quick hand from Luffy—

 _Oh sweet_   _sapphires his arm stretched out ten yards what the hell?!_

From Luffy's extended fist hung a small child, squirming to get out of his grip. "Leggo!" she squealed. "That hurts!"

"Honey May!" Deirdre exclaimed, dismounting from Chopper's back, her shock at Luffy's reveal momentarily forgotten. Honey May stopped struggling at her voice, looking up with happy surprise.

"Nee-chan!"

Luffy lowered her and retracted his arm. Honey May scrambled to Deirdre as two more figures exited the bunker.

"Honey May, where the hell-," started the taller one, but stopped as her eyes fell on Deirdre.

There were a few moments of startled silence, and then the trees echoed with shouts as one of the girls leaned back into the bunker and yelled "Deirdre-san's back!"

Deirdre herded them back to the door, shushing them. "Guys, quiet! Do you  _want_  to be found?"

They lowered their voices, but didn't stop their deluge of questions.

"Who're these guys? Where have you been? Did you bring supplies?"

"I will answer everything once you  _get back inside_ ," she hissed, motioning with her head for the Strawhats to follow.

They did, and she closed the thick iron door with a  _clack_ , doing up the four locks before turning towards the gaggle of girls.

Eight girls stood before her expectantly, and Deirdre exhaled deeply from her nose in anticipation of the long explanation ahead. Sweet sapphires, she didn't have time for this.

"Okay, guys, before anything else, be polite and introduce yourselves."

They did so quickly, almost talking over each other in their impatience. The Strawhat crew did so in turn, feeling a little awkward at the forced courtesies. Deirdre had explained to them that there were eleven girls in her care, but they hadn't realized exactly how big of a group that was until they'd been faced with it.

"She's been doing this for a year?" Usopp whispered to Sanji in mild shock.

"Okay, now that the formalities are over," Deirdre sighed, running a hand through her bangs, letting her shoulders relax, "I'm just so glad you guys are all safe." She dove in for a quick group hug, pulling back almost as soon as it started.

"There's a lot to tell you guys. I'll try to keep it short."

Everyone took a seat where they could—chairs were in short supply with eight girls in the bunker, let alone eighteen people altogether. In fact, the whole bunker was in short supply—it had obviously been meant to hold maybe six people in comfortable living space, and with everyone inside it was getting just a teensy bit cramped. The low ceiling didn't help much either. But they refrained from complaining, instead listening quietly as their new friend explained the situation to her adopted sisters.

"Okay, before you go complaining," Deirdre began, sitting on a chair Chopper had insisted upon, "I'm so sorry for missing the supply drop the other day. I was actually going to head here when, well—I got found out."

There was silence as all the girls took this information in. Deirdre continued.

She did her best to quickly retell it-how she'd been captured on her way back from a mission and thrown in an abandoned mineshaft. How they'd had her in a weak pair of cuffs; from using a discard pickaxe to wrench them off to digging her way out of the side of the mountain to escape. The girls were quiet and attentive, though their demeanors became more worried as tthey realized the extent of the situation.

"Unfortunately, Zima caught up to me while I was escaping. Gave me this as a parting gift." She raised her shirt a little to show her bandages.

Kaske gave a low whistle. "That'll be one hell of a scar."

Deirdre snorted. "Tell me about it."

"But they don't know where we are, right?" asked Etalind, the small, dark girl with haunted eyes.

"Of course not. I would never abandon you guys."

A stick thin fishgirl spoke up from beside Dierdre; her green skin and wide yellow eyes a stark contrast to the humans around her. "But where's Orma? And Gerti and Appi?"

"Lindy…" Deirdre started, laying a hand on her shoulder gently. "That's where I'm going next. They should be on their way here—we're going to find them."

"Are they in trouble?"

"Yes. But hopefully not for long."

"That bastard's after them, isn't he?" Kaske said, more of a statement than a question.

Deirdre nodded solemnly. "Those goons attacked the homestead, and they ran. Orma left a note that they were on their way here, but obviously something's wrong."

This quickly led to another discussion about who would stay to protect the bunker and who would go find the missing girls—which included most of the girls themselves. More than half of them insisted on going along, but Deirdre shut it down.

"No way," she said. "I am not going to risk you all getting found by Popov. If they find you, there's no guarantee I'll be able to get you back. You'll be slaves again. I won't let that happen."

"But—"

"Lindy, Kaske, I'm glad you want to help protect them. I know how you feel. But I can _not_  allow you to put yourselves at risk too. This is  _my_  responsibilty."

The girls skulked; worry and anger etched on their faces clear as day.

"Don't worry, guys. We'll get them back. I promise."

Kaske blew out her nose in a huff. "We know. Just be safe."

Eventually, it was decided (partly through volunteering and partly through drawing straws): Nami, Usopp, Sanji, Franky, and Brooke would stay with the girls as protection in case Popov discovered the bunker. Meanwhile, Luffy, Zoro, Chopper, Robin, and Deirdre would be the search party. Chopper was against Deirdre coming along, but he knew it was pointless to argue. Deirdre knew the terrain best out of all of them, not to mention she would likely go off on her own if she deemed it necessary.

As soon as the assignments were decided, they headed out—but not before Deirdre turned one last time at the door and looked at the impromptu babysitters with solemnity.

"Please," she said quietly, "keep them safe."

Satisfied with their nods, she joined the others in the night.

* * *

Once they were a good distance from the bunker, Deirdre turned to see the others close behind. They were traveling at a decent clip, and she used one hand to hold her bangs back from her face. Not that it really improved visibility that much—it was well past sundown now, and everything was dark and ill defined.

Luffy was a Devil Fruit user too. She should've seen it coming, really—he had an unusually strong aura, especially given his age and small, wiry stature. What was odd was that Chopper, in all his chattering about his crewmates, had never mentioned it. Must've slipped his mind. In any case, it made Deirdre feel a bit better about dragging them all into this mess.

More importantly, where were her sisters? Orma wouldn't have lied in that note—they should have made it to the bunker well before she did. Did they somehow change their emergency plan without telling her? No, Orma would have just written it plainly if they had. They wouldn't have, anyway. They knew what kind of person Popov was, how vital it was that they follow the original plan.

…Right?

Ugh, no hope for it then. She'd have to try that trick again. Not that it had ever worked that well before, but it was the only thing she could do right now.

She leaned down to talk to Chopper below her. "Doctor-chan, I know you said I couldn't shift—"

"Absolutely not!" he snapped.

"No, listen-what if I only shifted a part of me? Not my stomach."

He paused, thinking. "I suppose that wouldn't affect your wound, hypothetically. But is that even possible?"

"Wait, you can't do that?"

"And you can?"

"Yes, but I don't know if I can do what I want with it. It's tricky."

Chopper leapt smoothly over a fallen log, as did the rest of the group.

"Well, I don't see any reason not to try. And I have a feeling you'd do it even if I told you not to."

She grinned weakly. "You know me so well already, Doctor-chan. Could you stop for a second though? I'm not sure I can do it while we're moving."

Deirdre ignored the stares from the group and closed her eyes and focused. First were the ears—she reminded herself how it felt to change form, become a dog. The act of transforming was the same, but she had to limit it to only the ears. She'd practiced this sort of thing before to entertain herself and her sisters—changing her ears, her hands into claws, sharpening her teeth, and sometimes giving herself a tail. The real trick was the listening, though. Usually she just listened across long distances while in dog form, but she didn't want to decommission herself by ripping her stitches before an actual fight. So she had to make do—both actions required intense concentration on their own, and combining them was even trickier. But it meant a better chance at actually fighting later, so she'd certainly try it.

With the transformation, the sounds of the forest came alive: the rustle of wind, an owl hooting, a nearby stream bubbling to her left, and (easiest to pick up) the breathing of the other members of the search team. Listening to the physical sounds was easy, though. Now she had to listen for an feeling.

She opened her mind, mentally probing the surrounding area for the familiar touch of her sisters' auras.

"Interesting," Robin said quietly, catching on, but stopped when Deirdre's ear twitched momentarily in her direction.

Nothing in the first half mile. Well, she hadn't expected them to be close by. She kept reaching.

And reaching. And reaching. Sweat beaded on her forehead.

Finally, she found them—clustered together and tenser than a poorly tuned guitar. There were other presences beside them, faint and unfamiliar. They gave her a bad feeling.

 _Oh_ no, she thought in alarm, finally realizing their location. Her concentration snapped, and everything felt muffled and silent. Subconsciously, she placed a hand to her ear and felt that it was human again.

She cursed.

"What? Did you find them?"

"Yeah, and it's not good," Deirdre said, wiping sweat off her brow. "They're in the city."

Diamond City was a place Deirdre actively avoided—at least, she did in her human form. The same was true for her sisters, and especially in recent years. They would never go there unless forced—which made the other auras she felt (faint and indistinguishable from this distance) a bad omen. Had they been caught? The knot in her stomach twisted and sunk lower.

Thankfully it was only a few miles to the edge of town, and the five of them entered the outskirts before the end of the hour. Diamond City (or rather, what was left of it) settled squarely on the banks of the river, with squat stone buildings and bridges all the same blue-gray—lit only by the lanterns and limited electric lights in the city.

Once they reached the outskirts, Deirdre stopped them again for another listen. Unfortunately the girls had moved as well, and were almost completely outside of town—headed right for Popov's headquarters. She cursed again.

"Okay, we need to head this way—" she started, pointing in the direction of the riverbank.

A familiar voice stopped her cold.

"Where do you think you're going, Doran?"

A figure stepped out of a nearby alley, holding a lantern just high enough for her to make out his features; a deceptively handsome man of perhaps twenty-five, with a familiar glimmer of disgust in his blue eyes. Instinctively, she returned the look. Behind him stood a good twenty or so of the other townspeople.

"I don't have time for this, Hobbs."

"Oh, what a shame," he half-sneered.

"I'm serious—you all either move out or I'll make you." She let a growl creep into her voice. It didn't have the intended effect.

Hobbes gave the five of them a once-over, taking in the way Deirdre gripped her abdomen, then turned.

"What do you say? Should we tell her first, or should we just arrest her?"

A general vote of assent came from the group. Shouts echoed down the street, beckoned by the noise. It seemed like all of Diamond City's citizens were on the streets tonight. Popov must have done something to get them riled up—there were more guns and picks than she could count.

Confused, Robin and the others turned to Deirdre. "What's this about? Are you running from the law, Deirdre-san?"

"Not as far as I know," Deirdre said. She turned back to Hobbs suspiciously. "What's this all about?"

Hobbs pulled out a pistol, pointing it directly at her chest. "You're under arrest, Doran. Popov told us about your curse."

Deirdre's blood ran cold.

"My…my curse?"

She had been twelve when she and her sisters found the strange-looking apple among the day's crop. The four of them had argued over what to do with it; finally daring Deirdre to eat it. She found out rather quickly that it was no rotten apple—the first transformation had been fast and almost painful, and the terrified faces of her sisters were forever seared in her mind.

It took hours for their parents to calm them all down, let alone talk Deirdre through shifting back. Romola and Yuli had come across their fair share of Devil Fruit users so they knew a bit of what they were dealing with, but neither really knew exactly how to get their child back to human form. Finally, she changed back on her own, and they called a family meeting right there and then in the middle of the orchard.

Her parents explained what had happened as best they could, and warned Deirdre to keep her new powers a secret. Yuli helped her practice shifting and control, and Romola had trained her to use the power to her advantage in a fight.

 _We'll make the best of it_ , they'd said.

And now here she was, staring down a mob of people she'd known all her life. She could imagine just how Popov told them just enough truth to twist it, make her look like a monster.

She swallowed. "I'm not cursed," she spat. "Just what did that bastard tell you, huh?"

"How you turn into a wolf and eat our livestock and attack our children," he clarified, and cocked his gun. "Gave us some special bullets too. Seastone, or something."

She caught how Robin's eyes widened slightly in her peripheral vision. Seastone. Her mom had warned her about that.

"You can't trust anything Popov says, you all know that." She tried to be entreating, but saw no empathy in the eyes of the mob.

"Oh, we didn't think it was true, you know. Popov's not exactly liked here either, but he did give us a nice bit of incriminating evidence against you."

"Well I'd like to see whatever it is," Deirdre replied petulantly. Maybe there was a possibility to refute it, prove her innocence.

"Here's your proof," he said, ripping the bandage off her wrist and pointing. "She has the same mark as the wolf that's been terrorizing the island!"

Oh. No refuting that.

A murmur arose from the crowd.

Luffy laid a hand on her shoulder, making her jump. "Deirdre, d'you want me to take 'em out?"

"No!" she whispered quickly. "If we attack, that would just make it worse."

Luffy looked at her dubiously. "You sure? What if we just knocked all of them out?"

"It's not just me I'm worried about, remember? These people hate my family enough as it is—I'm not going to give them another reason. Besides, they're not the ones that  _really_  deserve the beating right now."

"Fine."

"Thank you, Luffy-kun. Besides, maybe I can talk my way out of this." Not that talking was ever really her strong suit, but it was worth a shot.

She dismounted and walked closer to the mob, her hands up. Hobbs kept his gun aimed straight at her chest.

"Guys, please—can't my arrest wait until my sisters are safe?"

This had the opposite of its intended effect—the crowd burst into shouts and angry mutterings.

"As if they weren't in on it!"

"You're all demons."

"They're just as guilty—harboring a killer!"

Rage built in her chest and throat, and she snapped. So much for talking it out.

"You idiots don't get it!" she nearly shouted. "Popov's lying to you—to everyone! Opening the mines again was just a way to fund his slave trading and drug deals. I've  _seen_  them—in fact, that's why he hired me! Cause I'm strong and fast and needed the damn money. And he lied to me, too! I thought I was transporting fruit for two whole years, but surprise! It's  _drugs_. And  _slaves_. And now he's making you all think  _I'm_  the reason those people have gone missing, because it's really him!"

Her voice rose in volume as she went on, and by the end she realized she'd walked right into the barrel of Hobbs' gun. It nestled menacingly at her collarbone.

His reply was simple.

"Save it for the trial, wolf."

Someone behind Hobbs pulled out a thick pair of stone cuffs. Something deep inside her panicked at the sight of them—her instincts told her that if that stone touched her skin, she would be dead for sure.

Nausea threatened to overwhelm her; everyone was talking at once. The insults came too fast; she didn't even have time to process them all. So much hatred from the townspeople—she'd known the Dorans were disliked, even distrusted, but the open hatred was a surprise. These people blamed her for the missing people. Blamed her mother for being a pirate, a witch. Popov had probably had the easiest time convincing them of her crimes.

Was there no way to peacefully convince them? They were almost as bloodthirsty as Popov himself.

"We're taking her to get her sisters," Luffy insisted, fearlessly moving to stand beside her. "Deirdre, are you still certain we shouldn't kick their asses?"

She didn't answer. She knew even one of her companions could easily take out this crowd, but the thought of the consequences made her stomach churn. Retaliation would fall not only on her, but the rest of her family as well.

Hobbs was adamant. "You're not leaving here, witch. You need to pay for your crimes."

She looked to the others for help—Luffy seemed more than ready to throw some punches (a sentiment she understood well), and the others appeared close to the same conclusion. Her eyes fell to Zoro, who was frowning a little more than usual.

"What if someone takes her place?" he asked suddenly.

The mob thought it over, and Deirdre could practically feel the gears turning as they weighed their options. "That's acceptable. You volunteering?"

"Yeah," he said. He spoke quickly, looking surprised even as it came out.

Deirdre opened her mouth in protest. "What? No!"

Hobbs holstered the pistol. "Fine. We'll give you a grace period, Doran. You have until sunup to get your final arrangements in order. The trial starts at dawn, with or without you."

"Zoro…," Luffy said. A silent conversation passed between crewmates, one that Deirdre couldn't quite follow. But it seemed like they accepted their crewmate's decision.

She didn't though—what the  _hell_? Helping her fight was one thing, taking her place in a one-sided trial was something else completely.

Too many questions flooded her mouth. She could get out only one.

"Zoro-kun, why?"

His gaze was steady; only the hand gripping a sword hilt belied any tension.

"You should be the one to save your family, Deirdre."

For a long moment she just stood there, searching his face for some clue to his reasoning, his words echoing in her head. Why were these people—maybe more importantly, why was  _he_ —helping her so much? What had she done to deserve all this?

Suddenly, she threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly, burying her head in the crook of his neck. Zoro staggered under her, stiff in shock and—was that embarrassment? She didn't care. She'd been holding back from the public displays of affection until she knew how these people felt about it, but at this moment she was way too grateful to stop herself. She tried to send all her emotions into this hug: all her gratitude, her relief, and hope.

"Thank you," she whispered. "Zoro-kun, you have no idea how much this means to me."

He was silent, eventually returning the hug with one awkward hand.

So much for observation haki. He hadn't seen it coming at all.

Deirdre finally released him, standing tall with renewed determination.

"We'll be back by sunup for sure," she assured him.

He almost smiled. "I know."

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh good grief this got so long… I really wanted to end the chapter on this scene though. Reviews/comments are really appreciated! Especially for this chapter-do you guys feel this flowed well/made logical sense? Constructive criticism is welcome tbh.
> 
> listen to the unofficial soundtrack: http://suan.fm/mix/zJyYCTm


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